Is one of your goals for 2019 to overcome fear? Everyone experiences fear and anxiety at times, but these emotions can create significant distress. Often, people allow their fear to stop them from doing things that are important to them. We must reconcile our relationship with fear, so it doesn't keep us from living the life we desire. That's why I use one simple skill to help me overcome fear.

Recently, I began to wonder if my medication is an emotional crutch. An emotional crutch is something that one relies on during a period of difficulty. But is using medication as an emotional crutch really that bad? 

Setting healthy boundaries is an essential element of relationships but navigating the implementation of boundaries can be intimidating. A therapist once said to me, "We teach people how to treat us." Those words stayed with me. Once I understood that I teach people how to treat me based on what I will and won't tolerate, I felt empowered and began setting healthy boundaries in my relationships.

Conflict resolution skills are important because interpersonal conflict can be tricky, but there are simple skills you can use to resolve conflict with ease. Recently, I employed my best conflict resolution skills when I accompanied my sister to her wedding dress fitting. Anyone who has planned a wedding knows how stressful it can be. There is so much pressure to put it all together, and emotions can run high. It is helpful to expect some conflict and to be prepared to use healthy conflict resolution skills.

You most likely experienced a trauma trigger if you have ever experienced a strong emotional response to a person or event that seemed disproportionate to the situation. Most people experience trauma triggers, often without conscious awareness. When we don't know how to identify our triggers, they can interfere with our happiness. A trigger occurs when you encounter someone or something in your environment that reminds you of a traumatic experience from your past. It doesn't have to be a significant trauma. Any reminder of a painful event you haven't fully resolved might manifest in your life as a trigger, and it can limit your ability to create happiness.

Can a pet help with depression? Although emotional support animals are well known for supporting mental health, having a house pet also helps with mental illnesses like depression.

Using sensitive suicide-related words can uplift those who are struggling; conversely, insensitive words, however well-intended, can cause further pain. Most people often find great difficulty in discussing suicide; especially in these delicate situations, suicide-related words exert immense power. 

Self-compassion practices are often overlooked in our discussion of self-care. Most of us acknowledge the importance of engaging in self-care to maintain our physical, mental, and emotional wellness. When we talk about self-care, we often refer to engaging in fun, or relaxing activities. While that is certainly an important aspect of self-care, there is another equally important element that we often ignore: self-compassion practices are also part of self-care.

Drawing boundaries for friends' partners really means drawing boundaries for friends. One of my best friends maintains a somewhat troubling, even emotionally abusive, relationship. She’s beautiful, talented, insightful, and joyful, but she constantly receives scathing feedback that she’s not good enough. He tells her that if she would just fix her problems, the relationship would be happy. That constant, biting criticism is not good for her. That any and all work on the relationship should be entirely hers because she is broken is not good.

"Me time" activities are important for your happiness and health. They can be an opportunity for reflection, a break for self-care, a respite from socializing, or simply the expression of an introverted nature. However, for many people like me, me time can easily become a contributing factor for depression. Isolation is one of the more dangerous symptoms of mental illness because it encourages cyclical thoughts and keeps us from recognizing the love in our lives.